Sustainable Living Tips by Lee Leffler

By Lee Leffler

If you feel good eating organic food, you might feel even better wearing organic fibers. Organic cotton clothing is soft, wholesome, pesticide-free clothing that feels good on the outside, and makes you feel good inside too. That’s because, like organic food, organic cotton is good for you and the earth.

We spoke with the owner of Natural Selections clothing store in Fairfield Iowa about the benefits of organic cotton and other organic fibers. “Organic cotton is good for your skin. It feels good, looks good, and it’s good for the environment,” said Lonica Lee Eisenbraun, owner of Natural Selections. She started the store in 1995 when she was a member of  a students’ environmental club at MIU (now Maharishi University of Management). Her concern about the environment inspired her to open a clothing store that reflected her values.

Eisenbraun says that many people perceive cotton as healthful because it is natural. Cotton Incorporated, the cotton industry’s major trade group, has endeared Americans to cotton with the advertising campaign “The Fabric of our Lives.” Actually, conventional cotton is grown with chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides, and treated with toxic chemicals and dyes. Some people have been known to suffer from rashes or itching when they wear new clothing without washing it first. It can take several washes for the toxins to be reduced to a comfortable level, and for some sensitive people, it is never possible to wear a conventional cotton clothing item at all.

Chemical pesticides and herbicides can leave potentially harmful residues on the clothing. According to Lonica Lee Eisenbraun, even washing does not remove them all. Not only chemically-sensitive people are affected. Scientists are finding that even tiny amounts of toxic exposures can harm health, says Eisenbraun.

More chemical pesticides and herbicides are put on cotton than on any other crop. Though conventional cotton only accounts for 2% of the world’s farmland, it accounts for nearly 25% of global pesticide use. Before mechanical pickers harvest the cotton, the plants are sprayed with toxic defoliants to make the leaves drop off. The field is just the beginning of the chemical journey for cotton. After harvest, cotton is cleaned, spun into thread, and woven into cloth. Chlorine bleach, which produces dioxin, is usually applied to whiten the fabric before dyeing. Toxic dyes change the cotton’s color, and the dyes are usually set with heavy metals such as chromium and copper.

In order to make the fabrics stiff and wrinkle-resistant, formaldehyde is often used. Formaldehyde can cause skin irritation, even in low concentrations. It is designed to last for the life of the garment. Then the fabrics are cut into clothing and sewn. Lonica Lee Eisenbraun says, “Because of all these chemicals, people who work the conventional clothing industry often complain of breathing and skin problems. There are many cases of hospitalization due to pesticide exposure every year.”

Making garments from organic cotton excludes the use of chemicals. Seeds are selected for their natural hardiness and resistance to pests. The organic cotton farm is located in an area suitable to organic farming. The field is plowed under at the end of the season and naturally fertilized with animal manure. Pest-eating insects are encouraged, to keep the cotton-eating insects in check. The weeds are removed with tractors and hoes. Organic Farming is more labor intensive, but far safer to the workers and our environment.

In order to make color garments with the least amount of toxins, entomologist Sally Fox brought naturally colored cotton to market. She spent ten years cross-breeding ancient naturally colored cotton seeds (which have short fibers) with long-fiber white cotton seeds in order to produce strains of colored cotton that are commercially viable. The cotton comes in shades of brown and green, and does not need toxic dyes and fixers to look fashionable. Natural Selections carries socks that use Fox’s Foxfibre Colorganic fibers.

Fox decided against working with the biotechnology companies that approached her. Rather than take risks with genetic engineering, she continues to cross-breed her plants naturally. While some non-organic cotton farmers are planting genetically engineered “Roundup Ready” cotton and B.t. cotton, certified organic cotton is genetically natural.

Some eco-conscious manufactures are selling unbleached cotton, also known as “green” cotton. Yet unbleached cotton is still grown with heavy doses of chemicals. While unbleached is better than conventional, it still is not as pure as certified organic cotton. Certified organic clothing is appearing in catalogs and stores throughout the country, including Coldwater Creek and Patagonia.

Organic cotton is a small but growing industry. Nearly all types of garments are available in organic cotton, including shirts, dresses, skirts, hats, undergarments, tights, socks, sweaters, sweat suits, scarves, dinner napkins, pants, and bedding. Natural Selections carries an ever-changing variety, plus baby clothes, toys, and blankets.

Depending on how much one normally pays for clothes, the price of organic cotton garments can seem a little higher. Eisenbraun points out that many of the garments are American made. “U.S. labor is fair labor. It is adults under good working conditions.” Also, organic cotton yields are lower. The machinery needs to be cleaned before organic cotton can be run through it. The cotton needs to be kept separate from non-organic cotton. All these factors affect price.

To consumers who want the quality and feel of organic cotton, though, price is not such an issue. One way to adapt to the cost is to calculate how much you usually spend on clothing in a year, then use that money to buy organic cotton instead. You may buy less quantity, but the garments will feel better and last longer. Donna Findling, a regular customer at Natural Selections, says price is not a problem because the companies guarantee their products and they last. She bought a set of organic cotton sheets and uses them year-round.

Natural Selections has one of the largest selections of organic fiber clothing in the country. Sales have been tremendous for a town the size of Fairfield. The store on Main street recently annexed another space next door, doubling its size. In the future, the owners will be carrying organic cotton dyed in all colors with new, plant-based, organic dyes. Until then, their cutting-edge Colorganic and non-toxic dyed clothes are safe, comfortable, and fashionable alternatives to chemically-intensive cotton.

Natural Selections has a large online store at TheOrganicCompany.com, and a brick-and-mortar store 104 South Main Street, Fairfield, Iowa. You can call them at 1-888-216-9917.

Originally published in Everybody’s News.